Charlotte-based entrepreneur and UnbelievaBuns founder Jerrod Adkins told CBJ last year he was aiming to get his startup's products into major grocery stores. That goal was achieved this year.
Adkin’s low-carb, high-protein, keto- and vegan-friendly sandwich buns landed on Publix Super Markets' shelves in September. Whole Foods Market stores also started carrying his products earlier this spring — marking the founder’s first major grocery chain-secured partnership.
“It's been three weeks since we've been on a (Publix) shelf, and from what I can tell, so far, they're doing great because they just keep ordering more and more,” Adkins said in an interview with CBJ in early October.
UnbelievaBuns, founded in 2019, is on a mission to help people live healthier but still enjoy their favorite foods, such as hamburgers. Adkins spent seven years perfecting his buns' recipe that’s made with 119 calories, 17 grams of protein and 1.8 net carbs.
“My thing was, the product’s gotta be really good,” he said. “And so that's what took me so long … because I really wanted it to be just like a regular bread. I didn't want anybody to be able to know the difference.”
Once Adkins felt confident about his recipe, he said he started hunting for a contract bakery. He said that search was one of the more difficult steps in his business. Adkins eventually discovered a small contract bakery that helped scale his recipe to commercial production levels. That sparked the official launch of UnbelievaBuns in October 2019.
Before the Publix deal, Adkins said he was reaching out to nearly every grocery chain across the country.
“A lot of brands will use brokers,” he said. “And, so I was also reaching out to every brokerage that I could come across and just pitching the product and seeing if they would represent us. I just happened to land on a broker that works with Publix.”
Adkins said the first meeting with Publix was unsuccessful, but the second one ended with positive results. He said during that meeting, UnbelievaBuns had already launched in Whole Foods, and he believed that helped give Publix the assurance that “we are here and we’re here to stay.”
UnbelievaBuns' products include four or six-pack bread buns, sourdough loaves and new nut-less buns, all low carb and high protein. In addition to Publix and Whole Foods, the products are available inside independent natural food stores across the country. They are also currently available in various health-food shops, bars and restaurants in the Charlotte area, including Ace No. 3, Legion SouthPark, Earth Fare, Farenheit and Hickory Tavern.
The startup also recently landed a partnership with nationwide food-service distributor US Foods. Adkins said this moves the startup closer to its goal of making the products available in every restaurant in America.
Partnering with Publix and Whole Foods isn’t close to being the last ambition for Adkin's startup. Adkins is now working to place UnbelievaBuns on the shelves of Walmart and Kroger as he hopes to eventually partner with every grocery chain in the country.
Adkins, who was on Charlotte Inno's Startups to Watch in 2022 list, said he’s also expanding his product mix. He recently executed a soft launch of nutritious hot dog buns, which are now available to order from the UnbelievaBuns website. Adkins is working to get those in grocery stores within six months.
He also wants to bring back his pizza dough flatbreads that were a hit at the beginning of the startup’s launch. “If we find the manufacturer to make them for us, they'll (also) be able to do burritos and tortillas as additional offerings,” he added.
